uninˈformed, ppl. a.
[un-1 8.]
1. Not informed, instructed, or enlightened on some matter or in some respect.
| 1597 Sir R. Cecil in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. III. 45 His being a King not of many yeares..may happilie leave him uninformed of that course. 1644 Milton Bucer on Div. To Parlt. B 2 b, I..was not un-inform'd that divers..men testify'd their daily approbation of the book. 1667 ― P.L. viii. 486 Guided by his voice, nor uninformed Of nuptial Sanctitie and marriage Rites. 1725 Pope Odyss. viii. 533 Who by Phœbus uninform'd, could..sing so well the woe? 1794 S. Williams Vermont 156 The uninformed spectator is struck with horror. 1796 F. Burney Camilla IV. 328 She was uninformed he had propagated it. 1854 J. S. C. Abbott Napoleon (1855) I. xxvii. 436 Uninformed as to its contents. 1854 Poultry Chron. I. 260/2 Persons..totally uninformed on the subject. |
| absol. 1815 J. Cormack Abol. Fem. Infanticide Guzerat i. 5 This is a position, which the uninformed and the un⁓intelligent alone will dispute. 1892 Temple Bar Oct. 185 Notwithstanding the abstract nature of his studies, Mr. Hopkins was a charming companion, even to the uninformed. |
2. Uninstructed, uneducated, ignorant.
| 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. §98 They..obtained Proselytes of weak uninformed Ladies. 1745 Fielding Tom Jones vi. ii, So great a politician..must surely..find out what passes in the rude uninformed mind of a girl. 1791 T. Newte Tour Eng. & Scot. 372 Uninformed and credulous minds readily discover a similitude. 1825 Coleridge Aids Refl. 169 Even though the uninformed Heathens should not perish. |
b. Marked by lack of enlightenment, information, or knowledge.
| 1796 T. Gisborne Walks Forest (ed. 2) i. 14 Him uninform'd attachment to his chief..arranged Beneath Rebellion's standard. 1817 J. Scott Paris Revisit. (ed. 4) 114 In the vagueness of uninformed speculation. 1891 Daily News 5 Nov. 2/5 The bankers pledged themselves..with blind and uninformed confidence. |
3. Not animated, enlivened, or inspired.
| 1709 Swift Vind. Bickerstaff Wks. 1755 II. i. 172 If an uninformed carcase walks still about. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 33 ¶12 Without this irradiating Power..her most perfect Features are Uninform'd and Dead. 1803 Wordsw. Yew-Trees 19 A growth Of..fibres serpentine upcoiling, and inveterately convolved,—Nor uninformed with Phantasy, and looks That threaten the profane. |
† 4. Unimproved by
art. Obs.| 1748 Foote Knights i. Wks. 1799 I. 61 A raw boarding-school girl..with a mind unpolished, a figure uninformed. |